Steel-converter.



No. 698,787. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

' 8-. K. BEHBEND.

-STEEL CONVERTER.

(Application filed July 31, 1900.

(No Model.)

5 Shaets Sheat I.

n [mm M witneoaeo No. 698,787. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

- s. K. BEHR'END.

STEEL CONVERTER (Application filed. Tqly 31, 1900.\ (No Model.) 5Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 698,787. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

- S. K. BEHREND.

STEEL CONVERTER.

(Application filed July 31, 1900. (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sh eet 3.

flu vemtoz No. 698,787. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

S. KrBEHREND.

STEEL CONVERTER.

(Application filed July 31, 1900.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

gave-"tor Q/virueaaeo m: NORRlS wrrzas no, FHOTD-LITHO., wnsumamu, ov c.

No. 698,787. Patented Apr. 29, I902.

S. K. BEHBEND.

STEEL CONVERTER.

0 (Application filed July 31. 1900. (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Shae! 5.

I NITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

TO HOWARD EVANS, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

STEEL-CONVERTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,787,

dated April 29, 1902.

Application filed July 31 1900. Serial No. 25,434. (No model.)

is equipped with an ordinary iron-foundry for making iron castings inconnection with the work on which the tools are doing duty. A largetonnage of iron castings is used where steel castings should be put in;but in consequence of the difficulty of getting steel castings iron isinserted, and necessarily two or three times the weight is added to theobjects under manufacture. Under the present methods it is next toimpossible to get steel castings except'by causing much delay incarrying on the work. Rarely can an order be filled for steel castingsat any of the steel-casting plants within thirty days, and morefrequently it requires nearer ninety days. Thus it will be seen howgreatly the average machine-shop is embarrassed for the want ofcastings, and for this reason iron is not infrequently employed wheresteel should be used and is preferred, thereby increasing the weight ofthe article being manufactured and also increasing the liability ofbreakage.

My converter remedies the foregoing objections and places an effectivesteel plant within the grasp of all large machine shops having their owniron-foundries at a com paratively trifling initial cost.

The object of this converter is to provide an equipment for anyiron-foundry now in operation using the regular cupola which theyalready have for melting the charge; and it consists in a ladle whichforms the bottom of the converter when in position, which ladle ispreferably adapted to run on a suitable track from cupola to converter,and vice versa, in connection with means for raising and lowering theladle into or out of contact with the upper portion or stack of theconverter, as the case may be.,

My process; can be made continuous, or a single blow. can be made, whichgreatly reduces the cost which would naturally be entailed by the use ofthe open-hearth process, which latter must be made continuous both dayand night and requires expert operators, not to speak of long continuousheating, from ten to twelve hours, to complete the melting, and cannever be run economically unless the charge runs from ten to twentytons. With my converter as soon as a blow is made everything can beallowed to cool down and it can be started again at will.

'Another desirable use to which my converter can be put is in themanufacture of what is known as semisteel or in taking just. suchfoundry-iron as is ordinarily used in making gray-iron castings, as byrunning this iron into the ladle and giving it, say, a five or tenminute blow a large portion of the carbon is thereby removed, and theresult is an iron casting of great toughness and tenacity with astrength nearly equal to that of mild steel, which could be utilized asan excellent metal for car-wheels, or, in fact, for any product Wheregreater strength than castiron is required.

In addition to the several features named and the objects attained-=suchas the construction of the truck with ladle attached and capable ofbeing tilted or lifted into place beneath the stack of the converter toform a part thereof and the adjustable twyers by which any angle of blowcan be obtained, either of the whole number of twyers or the differentindividual twyers-still other features consist of the means of disposingof the slag by means of slag-holes and. a number of other more or lessimportant accessories, which will be hereinafter more fully described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation.Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sections taken at right angles to each other.Fig. 4 is a'plan view. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the ladle. Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section on line 2 2 of Fig. 2. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are sectionsand details showing the location and construction of the slag-holes.Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the twyer-frame. .Fig. 11 is a top planView of the same, the latter two figures both being on an enlargedscale; and Figs. 12 and 13 are views in section and elevation of themeans for elevating and lowering the ladle of the converter.

A represents a superstructure erected on a suitable foundationas, forinstance, the piers 1 1. The superstructure or framework can of coursebe variously constructedas, forv instance, it maybe entirely built up ofI-beams of suitable metal, as is indicated by the parts 2 2 in thedrawings.

B and indicate the upper and lower sections of the converter, or, as Ishall term them, the stack and ladle, respectively. The stack B isstationary and is preferably supported by means of the side brackets 3 3upon the horizontally-disposed side beams of the superstructure. Thisstack is of the upright cylindrical type, with a tapering chimney at thetop, and consists of a sheet-metal shell lined with fire-brick, silica,or other refractory material to a suitable depth, as is customary. Thisstack is not only open at the top, but also at the bottom, as more fullyshown in Fig. 2, where it is constructed and adapted to fit the ladlewhen the converter is in operation. The stack 13 is surrounded by thecustomary wind-belt 4, which latter may be constructed of sheet-metalplates securely bolted and riveted together by means of angle-irons. Aninlet is provided for the passage of air for the supply of thiswind-belt. In thisconnection it may be stated that while any form oftwyer may be employed in the holes 6 6 provided for them, yet I prefersubstantially the form shown and described in my concurrently-pendingapplication, Serial No. 32,305, filed July 31, 1900, which applicationis a divisional part of this one.

Two or more slag-holes16 16 are formed in the lower end of the stack B,as is shown more particularly in detail in Figs. 7, 8, and 9 of thedrawings. Their. location, it will'be understood, is just above thesurface of the charge, where access to the latter can be easily had atany time during the process of conversion, thus avoiding the necessityof tilting the converter or stopping the blast=in short, rendering itpossible to dispose of the slag in the most convenient manner possibleand at the same time economically without any interruption of theoperation of conversion.

The ladle O is carried upon a truck E. This truck is provided withwheels 18 18, which travel on tracks 20 provided therefor. Thesetracks.20 of course extend centrally through the framework orsuperstructure of the converter and may be carried to any suit-ablepoint. On the truck are erected a pair of standards 21 21, and trunnions22 22, projecting in opposite directions from the ladle, are journaledin these standards, where they are held against the possibility ofaccidental displacement by the cap-plates 23, which are bolted securelyto the upper ends of the stan dards 21 21. An arm 24 projects upwardlyfrom each of these cap-plates in position to enter sockets 25 on thesides of the stack B when the sections are together, thus insuringperfect alinement and preventing lateral displacement. On each of thesetrunn-ions, as a means for tilting the ladle when the charge is to bepoured out, the worm-gears 26 26 are secured. Worms 27 on shafts 28engage the teeth of the worm-gear. The worm-shafts 28 are journaled inthe standards 21, as shown in Fig. 1. Both ends of these shafts 28 arepreferably square or angular in cross-section to receive a crank orother means by which they are turned, and the operation of tilting theladle is rendered easy and accurate by turning these shafts 28, and bythe use of the worm and worm-gear the ladle is held locked wherever itis set against the possibility of displacement from any accidentaldisturbance. Spouts 30 30 at either end discharge the molten mass.

As a means for raising and lowering the ladle 0 some suitable jackingmechanism is provided. I have illustrated a convenient meansforaccomplishing this, which I will now describe.

A block 31 is constructed-and adapted to fit a socket 32,centrallylocated on'the bottom of the truck-frame. journaled in thetrack-rails20, extends centrally through this block 31 and has securedthereon a cam 34, which preferablycarrie's a series of hardened-steelantifriction-rol'lers 35 on a common spindle 36 inthe cam. These"lifting the wheels 18 from the track-'rails'20 and forcing the ladleinto tight engagement' with the stack B. The shaft 33 may be rocked Ashaft 33, preferably in any convenient manner, and as a convenient meansfor doing this I have shown a worm-gear segment 39, secured on one endof the shaft. A worm 40 on shaft 11 engages the teeth of the worm-gearsegment and turns and locks the shaft in any position required, cranks42 42 being provided for rotating this shaft in either direction.Obviously this device for raising and lowering the ladle can be replacedby a simple ram operated by hydraulic or other power where suchfacilities are available.

Having described the preferred details, the operation will be brieflyoutlined. The ladle C, mounted on the truck provided therefor, is runalong the track to such point as may be arranged for charging the ladle,after which it is run back to a point immediately beneath the stack,whereupon it is lifted into engagement therewith, as has been fullydescribed, and the air-blast is turnedon and the twyers set to suchinclination as is deemed most suitable for the work to be performed.When the operation is complete, the ladle is lowered and carried 0E onthe track to a point arranged for the discharge of the contents.

to the stack with a new charge and the process of converting berepeated. In this manner a two-ton charge of metal can be converted intohigh-grade steel equal to the product of the best open-hearth furnace inabout twenty minutes. The process can be made continuous or a singleblow can be made, thus greatly reducing the cost. With this converter assoon as a blow is completed, if-desired, everything can be allowed tocool down, or it can be started up at will.

It is evident that slight changes other than those heretofore mentionedmight be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts describedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence Ido not desire to limit myself to the exact construction herein setforth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A converter comprising a stationary stack, and a movable ladle, theladle adapted to contain the molten metal, and the stack having a seriesof twyers extending around it, their lower ends extending no lower thanthe upper end of the ladlewhereby the blast of air issuing from thetwyers is directed upon the surface of the metal and toward the centerthereof.

2. A converter comprising a stack and ladle, one stationary and theother movable, the ladle adapted to contain the molten metal and thestack having va plurality of twyers therein which extend around it atarpoint at or near its lower end and no lower than the upper edge of theladle, said twyers vertically adjustable and constructed andadapted tobe locked in any of their various adjustments.

3. A converter comprising-a stack and ladle, one of which is movablewith respect to the other, the stack having twyers located at its lowerend, which twyers extend around the converter and are located no lowerthan the upper edge of the ladle, said twyers being movable at theirouter ends from their inner ends as centers and providedwith means forlockin g them in the different adjustments.

4. A converter comprising a stack and ladle, one being stationary andthe other movable, the ladle adapted to contain molten metal and thestack having a series of twyers extending entirely around it at a pointat or near its lower end, the stack also provided at its lower end withopenings for the removal of slag therefrom, the inner ends of the twyersand the slag-openings being in approximately the same horizontal plane.

5. A converter comprising a stack and ladle detachably connectedtogether, a windsupply and a series of twyers in communication with saidwind-supply and extending around the converter with their discharge endsat a level approximately coincident with the joint formed between thestack and ladle.

6. The combination with the stack, of a truck carrying a ladle whichlatter forms the complement of the stack when in contact therewith, thetruck having a centrally-located socket on its lower surface, a blockbelow the socket, said block having curved ways on its lower interiorsurface, a shaft having a cam, said cam carrying antifriction-rollersadapted to turn in contact with the curved ways on said block, aworm-segment on the shaft and a worm engaging said segment for rockingthe shaft whereby to raise or lower the ladle of theconverter.

7. The combination with the stack of a converter, of a truck having aladle thereon, the truck having a centrally-located socket on its lowersurface, a vertically-sliding block centrally located beneath the truckand in aline ment with the socket when the truck is in position to beraised and lowered, and a-rockshaft having cam mechanism thereonconstructed and adapted to raise and lower the I block whereby tocontrol the position of the truck.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of ,two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS vL. HuNTEn, WM. H. BADEN.

